The Johnny Depp Zone’s 2008 Birthday Project in support of the Child Life Fund of American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin is off to a great start . . . we have raised more than $1,000 for the hospital in the first 24 hours of our fundraising campaign! As always, the generosity of Zoners is amazing. Thanks so much to all who have given to the Zone’s birthday gift for Johnny Depp. You are helping to comfort seriously ill children and their families at the time when comfort means the most.

To read more about the Zone’s 2008 Birthday Project, or to make a donation via Paypal or directly through the American Family Children’s Hospital website, click here. –Part-Time Poet

You are invited to join with the ONBC moderators, Liz and DeppintheHeartof Texas, as the Zone’s book club begins its discussion of Jean-Dominique Bauby’s memoir THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY this week. Bauby, editor-in-chief of ELLE Magazine in France, suffered a stroke in 1995 which left him unable to move any part of his body except his left eyelid, a rare condition called “Locked-In Syndrome.” Fully sentient and aware of his surroundings, Bauby managed to communicate and dictate this remarkable memoir by blinking his eye. Bauby’s story became the subject of a much-honored 2007 film by director Julian Schnabel, who originally wanted to cast Johnny Depp in the role of Bauby; because of JD’s long association with this work, and with Mr. Schnabel, who directed Johnny in BEFORE NIGHT FALLS, ONBC has chosen to read THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.

Liz and DITHOT have done their usual astonishing job preparing background tidbits on the author and the work; stop by the ONBC forum and learn more about the amazing Mr. Bauby, his book, and the Schnabel film of THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY. To see a photo of Johnny Depp with Julian Schnabel, click here. This picture was taken at the 2008 Academy Awards ceremony, when JD was nominated as Best Actor for SWEENEY TODD and Julian Schnabel was nominated as Best Director for DIVING BELL. –Part-Time Poet

One of the Zone’s favorite traditions is our annual birthday gift for Johnny Depp, called “The Birthday Project,” in which we gather donations for a worthy cause in honor of Johnny and all the joy he has given us over the year.

This spring has been an extraordinary one for all of us who love Johnny Depp. The filming of PUBLIC ENEMIES has brought JD out into the public day after day (and night after night), as he stopped to say hello and shake hands with thousands of well-wishers. Many Zoners attended those meet-and-greets in person, and have generously shared their photos and first-hand accounts with us; and everywhere that PUBLIC ENEMIES has traveled, local journalists, bloggers and photographers have shared every moment of the filming process with the world. For those of us living far away, it has been as if we were invited onto the set ourselves. What a joy!

For this year’s Birthday Project, the Zone wanted to give something back to the area which has been Johnny’s home this spring, and which has given him–and all of the thousands of Depp-related visitor–such a warm welcome and so many cherished memories. So we have chosen a Wisconsin charity for our project this year: American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.

This is is the pediatric unit of UW Health, the academic medical center and health system for the University of Wisconsin (PUBLIC ENEMIES director Michael Mann’s alma mater). You can read more about American Family Children’s Hospital on the Zone’s 2008 Birthday Project forum or by clicking here.

We will be making our donation to the Child Life fund at American Family Children’s Hospital. The Child Life fund helps make the hospital stays of ill children and their parents and siblings more pleasant, bringing some unexpected comfort into a trying time. We feel this echoes what Johnny Depp gives us in his public appearances–that special moment of warmth and consideration that lifts our spirits and chases away the stress of daily life.

The Zone has a dedicated Paypal account for contributions to the 2008 Birthday Project; if you would like to join in our gift, you can make a donation by visiting our Birthday Project forum here and scrolling down to the Paypal button. If you would like to donate by check, directions are on the forum in a separate thread. Let’s reach out to help children, and say “Happy Birthday” and “Thank You” to Johnny Depp! –Part-Time Poet

Once again, Johnny Depp is featured in the pages of People Magazine; this time it’s their “100 Most Beautiful People” double issue, cover date May 12, 2008. You’ll find JD in the special “Hall of Fame” section, reserved for celebrities so gorgeous that they have been featured in the “most beautiful” issue five times or more; the photo is on page 112. To see the photo–it’s from a SWEENEY TODD promotional shoot–click here; a larger scan is available on the Zone’s News & Views forum, in the thread called “JD in People’s 100 Most Beautiful issue.”

The caption on the photo reads: “Depp has learned a hard lesson about being attractive. As he admitted to ESQUIRE, ‘It’ll definitely make you a little weird if you’re constantly being stared at.'” We apologize for staring, but with photographs like that one, how could we resist? –Part-Time Poet